Late afternoon, I drive down to the end of Dakins Road in Gladstone and spend an hour at the Cellar Door of Johner Estate. This was a place suggested to me by Jim at Finer Wines in Katikati after we had a chat about some Pinot Noir that I was looking at. I mentioned I’d be in the region and Johner came with his strong recommendation. With border restrictions, the owner, Karl is still overseas, and Raphael has just returned. At the Cellar Door however, Kat McCaw is a fantastic host who takes me through a range of the current releases.
Kat McCaw: What do you do with WineFolio – you seem to have a lot of different articles on there?
WineFolio: I’m a writer, rather than a reviewer, or a critic. Since I’ve lived in New Zealand I’ve done a lot of Tourism work, including things like Cycling and Touring Route type products for tourists. Now I have a focus on wine, and with a background in Tourism, I apply that to wine and tell the stories of the wine regions and talk to the people. A bit of what I do would still be considered tourism, just looking at wine. I take the time to come and visit. And people genuinely seem keen to have people come and see them.
KM: Wairarapa tends to get overlooked. Everyone talks about Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough of course, and Wairarapa gets a bit left out which is a shame.
WF: I don’t think that’s a reflection on your wines though. Queenstown, which with Central Otago arguably as your biggest competition in wine – because the perception is that both regions are key producers of Pinot Noir – just blasts everywhere out of the water. Just looking at the wine, there’s nothing between the two regions – you just take your pick which wines your prefer, but when it comes to the perception of Central Otago versus Wairarapa? That’s a contest you’re not winning. I would think that Wairarapa was as popular as Hawke’s Bay – with Wellington on your doorstep? You’re seen as the Waiheke Island of the Lower North Island. Where Aucklanders go there, Wellingtonians come to Wairarapa.
KM: We’ve got a lot of sheep! We’re quite small fry. Karl has a winery in Germany and a lot of money has been spent on that, and this is the New Zealand branch, which is quite modest. Our views here are probably one of the best around though. You go to Martinborough and a lot of them are quite closed in, and you don’t get the views. We do have quite a bit of beautiful scenery within easy distance – Cape Palliser is lovely, and Castlepoint is considered a go-to place. There’s some beautiful vineyards and wineries to see, as well as things like hiking trails.
WF: I’m following the Great New Zealand Wine Route – I’ve driven down here from Napier and Martinborough is my end destination. No-one pays me to do this – I’m not sponsored to come down by a Wine or a Regional Tourism body, so I’m totally independent. You’ll get some writers who’ll only come if someone pays them to.
KM: Here, try this wine – it’s our new Pinot Gris. Obviously as you’ll have heard, the 2020 vintage was fantastic in most of New Zealand. ’19 was really good too as they were both hot summers. 2019 was slower to start and the berries were small. We didn’t get as much juice but it was good quality. 2020 we got everything – quantity and quality. People who love their Pinot Gris, love this. It’s got so much flavour. It comes from this vineyard but also we got some from a neighbouring vineyard as well. The soils are similar and climate is the same. We only lease one other vineyard, just out of Masterton. If our label has Wairarapa on it, then it’s from the two vineyards. If it has Gladstone on it, it’s just from this one – Gladstone Block we call it. A lot of stone in our soil because this was an old river bed a long time ago. It drives the vineyard workers crazy when they’re trying to get a tractor down there, as it’s so rocky.
Everything is hand-picked here – used to be students, and I don’t know what we’re going to do next year. We’ll have to cobble together a few people to do picking. They used to come out from Germany, stay on site and be such a great asset for us.
Of course you’ve got to have a Riesling if you’re a German-owned vineyard. This is an off-dry style with a bit of citrus coming through, which makes it quite refreshing. We have two Rieslings and the other one is a low-alcohol one. Great with fish and seafood that one. When you first open it, it has a little effervescence in it.
WF: Do you get busy down here at the Cellar Door?
KM: Saturdays are quite busy, but Karl made the call that we wouldn’t open on Sundays, because we’re quite short staffed. During the week it tends to be the odd person comes along. We used to have a lot of foreign tourists in the week, but not now. Commercially we’re doing really well – busy with sales to supermarkets like New World in Wellington and Wairarapa, and a lot of restaurants and bottle stores. We’re busier than this time last year, and a lot of people have found that. That keeps us going. We wouldn’t be here if we relied on the Cellar Door. Do you have a favourite wine style that you like?
WF: Chardonnay is my favourite wine, at all, so that’s what I’ll turn to if I’m just having a wine. And for reds, it definitely used to be Pinot Noir. But I’m really getting into New Zealand Syrahs now, and I’m finding they are becoming quite Pinot like as well, so maybe that’s something to do with that? I don’t tend to go for the really big reds; they’re just not for me.
KM: You’ll have to try our Syrah. This first Pinot Noir is from Wairarapa and from younger vines. So it’s a light, easy-drinking Pinot Noir, and can be chilled in summer to be quite refreshing. One of our biggest sellers, and I guess price point comes into that as well. But the Gladstone, the next one up, is my favourite, and a lot of people once they taste it, they can tell the difference! The Pinots down here can vary quite a bit.
WF: I don’t always prefer the ones as you go up the steps. Quite often I’ll be given the full range, and I will like the entry level ones best; or I’ll like the one that is a blend from across sites, rather than a single site expression.
KM: And they can be quite different. Central Otago ones can be quite sweet cherry, whereas ours are more savoury. I think it’s such a great grape because as a wine it just goes with anything and it’s so versatile. I think that’s why it’s so popular. A lot of the other, heavier reds you’ve got to have with meat or something.
Here are my notes on the wines I tasted – below:
Chardonnay 2019
Appetising, elegantly presented roast cashew, mandarin, lemon peel, and oatmeal on the nose. Rich, with good concentration and tension. Citrus and stonefruits, a little tropical emerging with air – melon and pineapple. Full to medium bodied, quite plush and rounded. Nutty oak influence and a creamy texture.
Pinot Gris 2020
Approachable with lots of drink young appeal. Classic nose of pear, ginger and elderflower. Almost a candied, roasted concentration to the pear – syrupy and opulent. Medium bodied, rich, luscious style. Honeyed sweetness and a light marzipan on the finish.
Riesling 2019
Aromatic, showing mineral, almond, red apple and citrus zest aromas. Playful and lively, dancing across the palate – fresh and crisp. Off-dry with the acidity enhanced with a delicate ripe sweetness. Waxy texture, and a lemon meringue pie note coming in towards the finish – citrus, baking spice and a creamy viscosity.
Wairarapa Pinot Noir 2018
Lighter colour ruby red, with bright cherry, lilac and redcurrant on the nose. Fruit-driven, with an exuberance and coltish charm. Succulent, ripe and clean – Campari, cranberry and a dusting of spice.
Gladstone Pinot Noir 2017
Bold and punchy, with a little barnyard funk on the nose. Earthy, with smoked, peaty savoury flavours sitting over the red fruited, damson plum and liquorice in the palate. A dense core and layered complexity. Tannins are chewy, with a little grip, but not dominating. The finish is dry, elegant and shows an oyster shell minerality. Wine of the day.
Gladstone Syrah 2019
Floral, with violets and thyme, sage on the nose. Elderberry, plum and bramble – sweet-fruited but precise and poised. Spiced with cinnamon and a sprinkling of toasty oak. Tannins complement the juicy core and lead to a dry, spicy finish.
Noble Syrah 2017
The sweetest on offer at 154 grams of residual sugar, a rare treat. Intense, candied fruits, date, fig, plum, fruit cake flavours. Spice and even a little white pepper character comes through from the fruit. Weighty, mouth-coating and succulent. Well rounded, persistent finish.
Thank you for writing about wines from Wairarapa! Especially good to see ones that aren’t from Martinborough, as they are often excellent, and often overlooked.
Jan, thanks for reading! We have our Top 10 Tasting of Pinot Noir on Friday, maybe some Wairarapa wines in there..